Thursday, January 13, 2005

Feeling Safe in Someone's Mouth

I find myself searching today. Searching for kindness and peace. My family and I experienced a tragedy this last weekend. I will blog about it when I am able. I was reminded this morning over coffee with Ms Karma and the Toaster Oven, how much our routines and their friendship means to me. They are my anchors during a time I am adrift.

I ran across an email this morning that made me smile. I thought posting it today would make all of you smile as well. Love shows itself in many forms.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8-year olds,

"What does love mean?"

The answers they received were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she
couldn't bend over and paint her toenails
anymore. So my grandfather does it for
her all the time, even when his hands got
arthritis too. That's love."

- Rebecca, age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they
say your name is different. You know that
your name is safe in their mouth."

- Billy, age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a
boy puts on shaving cologne and they go
out and smell each other."

- Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give
somebody most of your French fries
without making them give you any of theirs."

- Chrissy - age 6

"Love is when someone hurts you. And you
get so mad, but you don't yell at them because
you know it would hurt their feelings."

- Samantha - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when
you're tired."

- Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee
for my daddy and she takes a sip before
giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."

- Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then
when you get tired of kissing, you still
want to be together, and you talk more.
My mommy and Daddy are like that. They
look gross when they kiss."

- Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at
Christmas if you stop opening presents
and listen."

- Bobby - age 5

"If you want to learn to love better, you
should start with a friend who you hate."

- Nikka - age 6

"Love is hugging, Love is kissing, Love is
saying no"

- Patty - age 8

"When you tell someone something bad
about yourself and you're scared they won't
love you anymore. But then you get
surprised because not only do they still love
you, they love you even more."

- Matthew - age 7

"There are two kinds of love. Our love.
God's love. But God makes both kinds
of them."

- Jenny - age 4

"Love is when you tell a guy you like
his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

- Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a
little old man who are still friends even
after they know each other so well."

- Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a
stage and scared. I looked at all the
people watching me and saw my
daddy waving and smiling. He was
the only one doing that. I wasn't
scared anymore."

- Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody.
You don't see anyone else kissing me to
sleep at night."

- Clare - Age 5

"Love is when mommy gives daddy the
best piece of chicken."

- Elaine - age 5

"Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly
and sweaty and still says he is handsomer
than Robert Redford."

- Chris - age 8

Love is when your puppy licks your face
even after you left him alone all day."

- Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because
she gives me all her old clothes and has to
go out and buy new ones."

- Lauren - age - 4

"I let my big sister pick on me because my
Mom says she only picks on me because
she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister
because I love her."

- Bethany - age 4

"Love cards like Valentine's cards say stuff
on them that we'd like to say ourselves, but
we wouldn't be caught dead saying."

- Mike - age 8

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes
go up and down and little stars come out of you."

- Karen - age 7

"Love is when mommy sees daddy on the
toilet, and she doesn't think it's gross."

- Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless
you mean it. But if you mean it, you should
say it a lot. People forget."

- Jessica - age 8

"Love is that first feeling you feel before
all the bad stuff gets in the way."